Automatic railway-switch.



O. E. BRANDFASS.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1910.

962,739. Patented June 28,1910.

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ANEREW 9. GRAHAM cm Pnmo-umoanawzws. WASHINGTON, 0. c.

C. E. BRANDFASS.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED 11.20, 1910.

Patented June 28, 1910.

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N, ANDREW a GRAHAM co. mom-mummy. wmmmo G. E. BRANDPASS.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITGH. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 20, 1910.

' 962,739. Patented June 28,1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. BRANDFASS, 0F WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATIC RAILWAY-SWITCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BRAND- FASS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of Vest Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway switches of the type adapted to be operated electrically under the control of the motorman on the car which is intended to pass from the main line on to the switch.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to' be had to the following detail description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of the railway track and its switch, together with a diagrammatic representation of a car approaching the switch; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the railway track, indicating certain parts in elevation; Fig. 3 is a detail of the parts associated with the trolley support on the car, and Figs. 4 and 5 are plan views of details hereinafter fully set forth.

Throughout the following description and on the several figures of the drawings similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

At 10 is illustrated a main railway track, from which a side track or switch 11 extends, and at 12 is shown a conventional form of movable switch point.

The device is adapted especially for operation in connection with overhead trolley lines, and at 13 is indicated the main power conductor. The wire 13 is supported in any usual approved manner and associated therewith, preferably between two adjacent supporting poles 14, in the vicinity of the switch, is an auxiliary conductor 15. The wire 15 is supported by brackets 16 so as to be held substantially parallel with the main wire 13 for the purpose hereinafter better set forth.

The switch point 12 as shown is pivoted at one end at 12 and between its ends preferably on the bottom is cast a lug 12 to which is connected a link 17. A lever 18 of any suitable form is pivoted at a fixed point 19 and at one end is pivotally connected to the link 17 and at its opposite end is pivotally connected to a rod 20 extending laterally from the switch to the side of the street or road Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 20, 1910.

Patented June 28, 1910.

Serial No. 539,097.

and into a box or casing 21. The rod 20 is incased in a tubular casing 22, and the box or casing 21 as well as the casing 22 are preferably water-tight to protect the operating parts within from disturbance by the elements. \Vithin the casing 22 is a bell crank 23 suitably pivotally mounted as upon a bracket 24, and to one end of said bell crank the rod 20 is connected by means of a link 25.

An electromagnet 26 is located at any suitable place at the side of the track, preferably upon one of the supporting poles 14 and to which the casing 21 may be connected. The magnet is preferably inclosed in a casing 27 and comprises a pair of coils 28 secured upon a U-core 29 by means of plates or nuts 30. The magnet is preferably rigidly secured to the casing 27 by means of a clamping bar 31. A lamp cluster 32 is located so as to be plainly visible to the motorman, and an electric wire 33 connects the auxiliary wire 15 to the coils of the magnet, the opposite end of the connecting wire 33 passing to the ground after passing through the lamp cluster. The lamp cluster should be connected within the circuit between the two wires 13 and 15 so that when the magnet is energized in the manner hereinafter described the lamps will be lighted to indicate such fact. The armature 34 comprises a large heavy fiat plate movable bodily toward and from the magnet coils in a well known manner, and rigidly connected to the center of the armature is a rod 35 incased in the tubular casing 36 connected to the two casings 27 and 21. The casing 36 is adapted to be connected to the pole 14 by any suitable form of clamps 37, depending upon the nature of the pole. The lower end of the rod 35 is pivotally connected by means of a link 38 to the short arm of the aforesaid bell crank 23. The normal position of the armature is downward from the magnet coils and is so maintained by the weight of the same and connected parts and also by means of a suitable spring 39. hen the parts are in their normal position the switch point 12 will be understood to be maintained so that the car may pass along the main line only. WVhen the circuit is completed through the auxiliary wire 15 and magnet 26 the armature will be drawn upward, causing the bell crank 23 to turn on its pivot and thereby the switch point will be thrown so as to cause the car to take the switch. As soon as the magnet is deenergized the aforesaid parts will be restored to their normal position.

In order to pass a shunt current from the main line to the auxiliary line and magnet in a manner under the control of the motorman the trolley pole 40 in addition to the usual trolley wheel 41 is to be fitted with an auxiliary trolley wheel 42, preferably smaller in diameter than the trolley wheel 41 so as to cause less complication of interference in the manipulation of the trolley. The trolley wheels 41 and 42 are insulated from each other, and the auxiliary wheel is connected by a conductor 43 which passes preferably down inside of the trolley pole to and through certain peculiar devices at the base of the pole and thence to each end of the car as by branch wires 43, so that by means of a switch 44 the motorman may connect that branch 43 adjacent to his end of the car with the main power conductor 45 which runs to his motor controller. It will be understood that the operation of said switch 44 is not to interfere in any manner with the usual operation of the motor controller.

The trolley pole, the trolley wheel 41, and the means for supporting the trolley pole upon the car are or may be of the usual type, and this invention does not contemplate any material alteration therein.

In order to make the proper connection bet-ween the wire 43 and its branches 43 and yet insure that there shall be no entanglement of the same nor interference with the ordinary power conductor when the trolley is shifted from one end of the car to the other repeatedly, the said connection between the wire 43 and its branches is effected by the following instrumentalities: A circular plate or disk 46 is suitably connected to the top of the car or trolley stand as may be found most suitable in any particular case and preferably surrounding the main shank 47 of the trolley stand. The branch wires 43 are connected to said disk 46 as by binding posts 48. A second disk or annulus 49 is mounted parallel to the disk 46 and spaced therefrom and clamped to the said trolley shank 47 so as to rotate therewith. The annulus 49 is preferably composed of sections bolted together by clamping bolts 50 and the said annulus is preferably insulated from the trolley shank by means of insulation 51. The annulus 49 therefore rotates with the trolley pole support and the current is carried over to it from the plate 46 by means of a spring brush 52 secured to one of said members and slidable over the other. As the car approaches the yoke 16 at the beginning of the auxiliary wire 15, if it is desired to take the side track the motor man will move his switch 44 to close the circuit through the branch wire 43 from the main wire 45, said current passing through said branch wire, the disk 46, brush annulus 49, and wire 43 to the auxiliary line 15, and thence the current will pass through the electromagnet 26 and lamps 32 in the manner above described. If the switch 44 remains closed the magnet will remain energized until the trolley passes the last yoke 16, at which time the circuit will become broken, the magnet deenergized, and the switch point 12 restored to normal position, whether or not the motormans switch 44 is thrown.

The several parts of the switch operating devices may be made of any suitable materials of proportionate size, and the details of construction and arrangement could be varied to a large extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter claimed.

I claim In an electric switch, the combination with a main trolley wire and an auxiliary trolley wire mounted parallel therewith, of railway tracks and a vertical support at one side thereof, a movable switch point, a casing connected to the lower side of said support and extending adjacent to said movable point, a casing near the top of said support, a tubular connection between said casings, a magnet in the upper casing, the armature of which is movable vertically, a rod within said tubular member connected to said armature, a bell crank pivoted within the lower casing and connected to said rod, jointed connections between the other arm of the bell crank extending through the extension of the lower casing and connected to the movable switch point, a trolley having a pair of wheels spaced and insulated apart adapted to operate on said main and auxiliary wires, electric conductors connecting said magnet with the main wire through said auxiliary wire, a switch adjacent to each end of the car, a wire extending down the trolley pole to an annulus 49, said annulus carrying a binding post, a circular plate carried below said annulus, and a spring connection between said annulus and circular plate, and connections between said circular plate and each of the switches, said switches supplying a means whereby the circuit may be closed from either end of the car to the trolley wheels.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS, E. BRANDFASS.

lVitnesses Var. A. BRANnrAss, J OHN H. TELLS. 

